My Competition...

The time had come for me to ask about the other person that he was mentoring! I had to know where I stood relative to him AND what my mentor was thinking about me! I hate being second best!

I did not know who he (my competition) was...where he worked...what he did...and so on!

How can you compete with someone, if you do not know anything about your competition! To me that was like fighting shadows in the dark!

I committed to asking him those details as soon as possible...and how I ranked relative to them...it seemed like the next thing that I should be doing!

The opportunity came within the same day of my epiphany! As is always the case...it was too soon and I felt unprepared!

He was in town...so we met at his apartment...to savor some of "his rum!" the "bootie" that he gathered during his last junket!

Gathering the nerve to ask...actually after consuming enough of his elixir to make me forget that I was uncomfortable...I asked..."How do I rate compared to the other guy he was mentoring!"

His response was nearly automatic, "There is no competition!"

I felt relieved for about 3 seconds...then I thought about what he had just said!

"You mean that compared to me...there is no competition?" I hoped!

"NO!" he tersely replied...

I crashed!

"I said..." he reiterated..."There is no competition!"

He could see, by the look on my face, that I was slightly confused! So he leaned back in his chair and took his mentor stance...

"One of the strengths of "you American people" is your competitive spirit! It is also one of your greatest weaknesses!"

"Your strength becomes your weakness when it is improperly focused!"

"I do not mentor 2 people to compare them..."

"You do not compete with each other...for my attention" "That sounds like a sibling rivalry..." "That is something that should be cast off when you reach adulthood!"

I mentally stepped back for a moment! I may have gotten myself into a discussion that I did not want!

"From my perspective..." He continued...

"The other (from this point forward is how he addressed him) will be running a large company in a few years!" (side note: He did! AND VERY effectively)

"You will make a larger impact on many organizations!"

"His will be soon..."

"You will not bear fruit for many years!" You will come to fruition in the 21st century!

You are my investment! The other is my immediate return!

Mentoring is like creating an investment portfolio! It must be balanced! You need something to live on and something for the future!

"Along the path...you both will make critical mistakes...and will learn from them!" Every step of the way will be a struggle..."

"He will be successful in his right...because he ultimately looks out for himself" I would not go up against him in his world...because he will win...

I would not go up against you in your game...I would not win!

"You will be successful, because you focus is on what is right...that is part of your soul!"

Comparing you too is like putting a "boxer" and a "fencer" in a ring and telling them to have at it!

"Perhaps when I look deeper...there is a competition...but it is not you against him...it is you against yourself!"

"When I look at it that way...one of you are definitely winning the race!" AND it is the RIGHT you! You refuse to compromise...but find a way to make compromise a win/win situation..."

"You are very good at that!" "You are not afraid to lose!...because you learn...and then everyone wins!"

"You are not afraid to be wrong...so that the other person is right!"

"From that perspective...you are winning!"..."Your race!"

"His game is different...his rules are different!"

"From his perspective...given his rules...he is winning his fight!" "I wouldn't waste my time with a loser!"

"So in a VERY circular way...there is no competition! Yet there is...do you know what I mean?"

"An undefeated champion picks the races that he runs in...so that the risk of losing is low...or he controls the race to minimize the risk...or he prepares so that he knows he will win...or he gives it everything he has...so that he knows he did his best...through winning..."

"You both do that in different measures!"

"Different strategies with the same results!"

"If you did differently than from the way you were programmed...then you would be compromising yourself...that is what is important!"

"You two are governed by your set of rules! You two will be in different arenas and will NEVER run against each other!"

"There is no competition...no shut up and have another drink!"

"We have important things to talk about!"

And our conversation changed to the weather!